A Book Blog

Slow and Steady Wins the Race: Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake {Review & Book Trailer}

Tomorrow!!! I can’t believe Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake is finally releasing! Ever since the cover and synopsis was revealed for this book I knew I had to have it!

Three sisters who have to kill each other for their crown? Sold. This seemed like a storyline I had never seen in fantasy and I’ve been really enjoying fantasy books that teeter on the edge of right and wrong.

Kendare sent me an arc of her book after I made a my own fan made book trailer, so THANK YOU KENDARE! Check out my trailer!

My Thoughts

Three Darks Crowns is one of those books that leave you needing book 2!

What I liked:

The sisters: I felt like I knew what to expect going in but to be honest, the sisters were much different than I expected and I was pleased to see how evil one of them was. Wah haha

The magic: I loved seeing the variety of magic in play here from animal control to poisons to elements. Magic always makes books more fun!

The pay off: What do I mean by this? The pacing felt slower in Three Dark Crowns which at first I wasn’t sure I liked. However, I remember having a conversation with Kristen at My Friends are Fiction and we were talking about adult fiction and that even though the pacing might be slower or world building more complicated the pay off in the end is worth it. I felt Three Dark Crowns was this way. The pacing was slower than I normally like but the pay off in the end was MORE than worth it!

Huge cast: This is a positive and a negative for me actually. There are LOTS of characters and it took me a while to keep straight which characters were with each sister. But once I was able to keep it straight I was a huge fan of this. I think sometimes in YA our character cast is pretty limited and I love having a variety of characters to know.

Addressing world concerns: One thing I liked was that outsiders who came to the island questioned WHY the island was the way it was. I liked that the magic and rules of the island were actually confronted within the book. I always think about “why is this happening?” and the book dealt with it head on.

The romance:The romance in this book is complicated and messy. I love it when it’s not easy.

What I didn’t like:

I mentioned the pacing above. While it definitely was worth reading (I NEED book 2), I personally struggled with the slower pacing of the book. That is just a personal preference, it’s actually not a criticism. But like I said, the pay off is worth it in the end.

Sometimes it was hard to keep characters straight. I wish the chapter headings had names of who the chapter was following.

Overall

Three Dark Crowns is perfect for fantasy lovers who enjoy magic, family, corruption and great twists and turns. I had no idea where this book was going and it left me wanting more! Even though I found the pacing slower the pay off was huge in the end! I gave the book 4 stars!

About the Book

Every generation on the island of Fennbirn, a set of triplets is born: three queens, all equal heirs to the crown and each possessor of a coveted magic. Mirabella is a fierce elemental, able to spark hungry flames or vicious storms at the snap of her fingers. Katharine is a poisoner, one who can ingest the deadliest poisons without so much as a stomachache. Arsinoe, a naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and control the fiercest of lions.

But becoming the Queen Crowned isn’t solely a matter of royal birth. Each sister has to fight for it. And it’s not just a game of win or lose…it’s life or death. The night the sisters turn sixteen, the battle begins. The last queen standing gets the crown.

If only it was that simple. Katharine is unable to tolerate the weakest poison, and Arsinoe, no matter how hard she tries, can’t make even a weed grow. The two queens have been shamefully faking their powers, taking care to keep each other, the island, and their powerful sister Mirabella none the wiser. But with alliances being formed, betrayals taking shape, and ruthless revenge haunting the queens’ every move, one thing is certain: the last queen standing might not be the strongest…but she may be the darkest.

Comments

I struggled with the slow pacing as well but mainly because I didn’t realize there was a sequel! I was expecting the story to move faster to wrap up in time and once I figured out that it wasn’t a standalone, I was more forgiving of the pace haha. I loved everything else though, just like you mentioned! Especially the worldbuilding and the sisters. The romances weren’t my fave but THAT ENDING. Wow!

That’s what the general consensus has been in the reviews I’ve been reading for this one: that the pacing is a bit slow, but the world-building and the premise are fantastic. Thanks for sharing and, as always, fabulous review! <

One of the many reasons I haven’t read Game of Thrones (only watched) is because the books are HUGE and because there are so many darn characters to keep track of. I’m weary that this book starts out slow because I have a 100 page rule when it comes to DNF. Hopefully the pacing picks up by then. Great review ! 🙂